


Rose Tyler: The Dimension Cannon

by itssoverynicetomeetyou



Category: Doctor Who, Doctor Who & Related Fandoms, Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: Angst, Attempt at humour, Brief description of dead body, Dark, Dimension Cannon, F/F, F/M, Graham being the wise grandfather again, I BROUGHT BACK THE DALEKS AND CYBERMEN YALL, I said Angst right, and now it's a few chapters later and I've not updated the tags in ages, but i don't want to give stuff away, but missy has gone proper mad, early stage thasmin, is missy even capable of love, like school reunion, mention of the smell of blood, more tags will be added, rose/missy but she thinks it's the doctor
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-09-13
Updated: 2020-05-20
Packaged: 2020-10-17 18:30:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 21
Words: 16,940
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20625605
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/itssoverynicetomeetyou/pseuds/itssoverynicetomeetyou
Summary: “Now there’s a face I didn’t think I’d see again,” she said softly. Rose looked at the woman, took in her soft Scottish accent, the dark hair, the utterly ridiculous purple outfit.“Doctor?” She asked. The woman smiled.“Hello Rose.”This isn't anything to do with the actual Big Finish story, but it gave me such a cool idea I wanted to write it.Rose misses the Doctor and uses the dimension cannon, despite the dire warning he gave her when the universe walls sealed up. But when she goes missing, it's up to someone to find her.





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> Hey so I haven't posted for a while. Actually I haven't written for a while so this is kinda me getting back into things. I heard the trailer for the Big Finish audio drama and it gave me this idea. Hope you enjoy!

In the back of a cupboard, buried under a mound of boxes, the small disc lay in the pocket of a long brown coat. The coat was crumpled, twisted into a ball and shoved in a corner, but it was not forgotten. Just put out of sight by the woman it hurt.

The door of the cupboard opened and a light flicked on, pushing away the shadows that had long rested there.

“Don’t you dare tell me you’re going to use that thing! You know what he said. You could collapse the whole universe! Don’t you dare!” A high-pitched nasal voice shouted from somewhere outside.

Soft hands rifled through the boxes, throwing them to one side when they’d been searched. Then the hands touched the coat and froze for a second before slowly pulling it out.

Jackie appeared at the cupboard door and looked at the figure inside, crouched over clutching the coat.

“Oh, Rose.” All the anger had gone; she could see her daughter was hurting. “Come here.” Jackie stepped forward and enveloped her daughter in a tight hug, ignoring the startled squeak.

“Mum, don’t-”

A box fell from the pile above them and landed on the floor where they had been standing.

The cupboard was empty once more.


	2. Thursday

“Sorry fam, I need to do some repairs to the TARDIS.”

“No kidding,” Ryan replied. “That death-eye turtle army really don’t like us.”

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen so much smoke come from a machine.” Graham chipped in.

“Oi, don’t call her that.” The Doctor said as the TARDIS landed and bonged loudly. The doors flew open. “You’ve upset her now.”

“Sorry,” Graham said sheepishly, giving the nearest pillar and awkward pat. The TARDIS bonged again, although a little quieter this time.

“We back in Sheffield then?” Ryan asked.

“Yep, it’s Thursday. Same day you left, I think. You’ve only been gone a couple of hours.” Ryan sighed.

“I’m late for work. See you later?” The Doctor looked up from examining the console.

“The repairs will probably take a few days, so I’m not going anywhere.” Ryan had already gone, half-jogging as he headed up the road.

“He’s left his coat. See you around, Doc. Ryan, son!” Graham called after him as he too left the TARDIS.

The Doctor shrugged off her coat and pried up a floor panel.

“You off too, Yaz?” She asked as she lowered herself down.

“My shift isn’t until this evening; I might take a nap though. Do you mind if I stay here?” Yaz didn’t know why, but she always slept better on the TARDIS.

“Not at all,” the Doctor’s voiced echoed back up to her.

“Er, Doc?” Graham re-entered the TARDIS, closely followed by Ryan.

“Hang on,” the Doctor called, before clambering back up to sit on the edge of the hole, her fingers already grease-stained. She pushed her hair out of her face and left a smudge on her forehead. No-one said anything though, there were more pressing things to worry about.

“This ain’t Sheffield.” Ryan said as he rounded the console to where she was sitting. “This is London.” The Doctor scrunched her face up.

“Really? I’m sure I put in the coordinates for Sheffield.”

“I know Sheffield, Doc. There isn’t a Powell Estate, not on any of the bus routes.” Before the doctor had a chance to react, the TARDIS doors banged open once more.

“Doctor?” A woman’s voice called, sounding more than a little angry.

The Doctor paled and slid back down into the hole.

“I’m not here,” she mouthed to Graham.

“Doctor!” The woman shouted again.

“This is a police box, why are you calling for a doctor?” Graham asked. The woman gave him a withering look.

“We both know this isn’t a police box. If you’re here, you must know him.”

“Know who?” Ryan asked.

“The Doctor!” The woman shouted again.

Yaz looked at the woman as she looked around the room.

“It’s changed a bit since I last saw it,” the woman said.

“Saw what?” Yaz asked.

“The TARDIS. It used to have these massive things stretching up to the ceiling, they looked a bit like antlers.” She paused and turned to Yaz. “This is the Doctor’s TARDIS, isn’t it? I know he’s the last of his kind, but there isn’t any chance this is a different one, is there?”

“Why do you need the Doctor?” Yaz said quietly.

“Rose is missing.”

A loud clang gave away the Doctor as she dropped whatever it was in her hand.

“Who’s Rose?” Yaz asked, but the woman ignored her as she walked over to the hole and looked down, hands on her hips.

“What have you done with my daughter?”

“Jackie, er,” the Doctor stammered. “What are you doing here?” She was answered with a cold stare. “Nothing, I haven’t seen her, not since, well, not since I left you in the parallel universe. You shouldn’t be here.”

“Quite right I shouldn’t.” Jackie said. “I should be at home with my daughter, not out roaming the streets looking for some godforsaken blue box.” The Doctor scrambled out of the hole and started pacing around the console.

“But it doesn’t make any sense, I told her, I told both of you that the walls of the universe wouldn’t take anyone crossing them. You should have told her-”

“I did!” Jackie shouted, tears threatening in her eyes. “You stupid old man, I did. But she wouldn’t listen. She got it in her head that she had to come and find you. She was so lonely and so sad-”

“What do you mean?” The Doctor stepped closer to Jackie. “Jackie, look at me. What do you mean lonely?”

“That’s not the point.” Jackie took a deep breath and looked the Doctor in the eye. “My daughter’s missing and you’re going to find her.” The Doctor swallowed and reached for her coat. As she put it on, she looked round at her friends, all of which were looking at her in various states of shock.

“Stay here. Don’t touch anything.” She offered a weak smile before leading Jackie out the door.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The Doctor would totally hide if she ever saw Jackie again, no matter how many times she's regenerated. Angry Jackie is terrifying.
> 
> I know everyone says this but comments really really help me and keep me motivated to write more stuff. Even just a smiley face makes my day :)


	3. Monday

“What the hell have you done?” Jackie pushed herself away from Rose and span around, taking in the surroundings.

They’d appeared in a, thankfully deserted, side street behind some bins. Jackie wrinkled her nose at the smell; a blinking sign over a back door claimed to have fresh fish, judging by the smell there wasn’t anything fresh about it. She took a few steps away from the smell, towards the end of the street and looked out into the high street beyond.

“Mum, wait!” Rose said urgently. “Don’t go out there, we don’t know what this universe is.” Jackie pointed at the people scattered about. Families, couples, kids doing wheelies on their bikes. A familiar scent wafted through the air and Rose breathed deeply.

“Chips.” She gave a small smile. “It can’t be that bad if it’s got chips. Come on,” she took hold of her mum’s hand and led the way out into the street.

It was strange. The street felt odd but somehow, incredibly familiar. Rose spotted a dry cleaners and knew the shop next door was a bookies. Opposite that was a greasy café and behind that…

A dirty sign nailed to the side of a building, rusting hanging round the edges. Powell Estate, Peckham.

“Mum, we’re home!” Rose cried. She ran to the nearest person, a woman browsing a magazine stand.

“’Scuse me, I know this is a weird question, but what year is it?” The woman looked at her and frowned before turning her back. “No, honest, I just need to know the year. I don’t mean anything weird, I just-” Rose caught sight of a newspaper and read the date. 2019. The same year she’d just left in the other universe. A lifetime since she’d last been here.

“Come on, love, let’s go.” Jackie guided her away from the woman and sat her down at one of the tables outside the café.

“I’ll never find him.” Rose said quietly, forcing back her tears. “It’s 2019 here just like it was back home and god knows how long he’s travelled for since he left. He won’t come back here, I’ve no idea how I’ll find him. Oh god I’ve been so _stupid_.” Rose buried her face in her hands and sobbed. Jackie wrapped her up in a hug but, for once, didn’t know what to say.

“It’s only been twelve years, not that long is it?”

“He’s a time-traveller mum. He doesn’t do things linearly.” Rose mumbled into her arms.

“Well, you know him, he’ll turn up eventually.” Jackie tried again, but Rose sat up and stared at her.

“Eventually? Do you think that’s ok? After all I’ve been through I can just sit around and wait for him to turn up? I can’t wait for him Mum, I just _can’t_.” Rose stood up quickly, knocking her chair over. Ignoring Jackie’s pleas to stay, she ran away from her. She didn’t know where she was heading, she just knew she had to get away. Away from her mum, away from the mess she’d made, away from the grief that still clung inside her, making everything fade to dullness almost as soon as she found it.

Her feet must have taken her on autopilot because when she looked around, she was in the stubby patches of grass that passed for a park behind the two towers of the estate. She stood and wept, her breath coming in heaving sobs, mascara streaking down her face.

“Are you alright?” A woman’s voice called, but Rose didn’t hear. “Hey, hey, ssh sh sh, it’s going to be alright,” a hand rested on her back, making Rose jump and spin round.

The woman gasped, then smiled.

“Now there’s a face I didn’t think I’d see again,” she said softly. Rose looked at the woman, took in her Scottish accent, the dark hair, the utterly ridiculous purple outfit.

“Doctor?” She asked. The woman smiled.

“Hello Rose.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Have I made it obvious enough? Do you all know who 'the woman' is?


	4. Thursday

Yaz barely looked at the others before following the Doctor out the doors.

“You can’t go without us.” She said, setting her jaw defiantly. The Doctor glanced back at her.

“Not now, Yaz. Go back inside.”

“We always do things together, what’s so different this time?” Graham asked, stepping in front of Yaz to try and break the tension. The Doctor looked at him with a pained expression.

“It’s just different.” Graham’s eyebrow twitched upwards. “I have to do this by myself, Graham.” The Doctor sighed.

“Don’t be ridiculous,” Jackie interrupted. “The more people help, the quicker we’ll find her.” She looked at the three huddled in front of the TARDIS uncertainly. “Come on.”

She led the way, threading her way through side streets and alleyways until even the Doctor had totally lost her bearings.

“Where are we going?” Ryan asked, having long since given up on memorising the way back to the TARDIS.

“The best place to start looking for a missing person is the last place they were seen,” Yaz said, wincing slightly as her ankle sent a hot spark up her leg. She’d twisted it during the mad run of their last escape; her excuse of a nap was really just to rest it. Ahead of them, the Doctor turned to Jackie, about to repeat Ryan’s question.

“Powell Estate.” The Doctor stopped dead, her jaw slack.

“You alright, Doc? You look like you’ve seen a ghost.” Graham remarked, trying to lighten the mood. The Doctor swallowed and blinked as she tried to shift the aching guilt in her gut. She glanced around and recognised the street they were in; she’d last been here on New Year’s Eve 2005, several faces ago. She could almost hear her past self’s grunt of pain, see the flash of blonde hair falling out of a hat.

The Doctor shook her head to dispel the memory.

“This way,” she moved off, not waiting to see if the others were following.

She walked so fast that Jackie had to jog to keep up with her, calling out for her to stop when she reached the stairs up to their old flat.

“We haven’t lived here for years.” The Doctor looked back at Jackie, guilt written across her face.

“You know I didn’t mean for any of that to happen.”

“And yet you took us back there.” Jackie replied, an edge to her voice that still made the Doctor’s stomach drop. The Doctor opened her mouth to reply but Jackie shook her head. “This isn’t the time, we need to find Rose.” Yaz stepped forward to speak to Jackie.

“Which flat did you use to live in? Is there a chance she may be there?” Jackie shrugged.

“I suppose. She told me she’d found the Doctor so I thought she’d gone travelling again, left me behind-”

“She told you what?” The Doctor interrupted.

“That’s why I was looking for you. I thought she was with you.” Jackie gave the Doctor a smile. “Did you think I wanted to find you for the memories?”

“It was you that came on to me.” The Doctor shot back in amusement.

“And I’ve never been let down by such a gentleman.” Jackie lay a gentle hand on the Doctor’s arm.

Yaz watched the interaction with confusion. The Doctor clearly knew Jackie very well, but she’d never talked about her. Not even a passing comment. A growing sense of unease settled somewhere in the pit of her stomach.

“Why don’t I check the flat with the Doctor? Is there anywhere else you think she might have gone?” Yaz asked.

“She might have gone to the park. You two spent a lot of time there.” Jackie replied.

“We’ll come with you.” Graham said. Yaz shot him a grateful smile; she needed time alone with the Doctor to talk. Before they were out of earshot, the Doctor span on her heel and ran up the stairs three at a time. She got to Rose’s door and hammered on it with the side of her fist.

“Doctor, wait!” Yaz sprang after her but didn’t catch up before the door was opened. A young boy looked up at the Doctor with scared eyes.

“Rose?” The Doctor called, barely registering the small human before her.

“Mum!” The boy wailed before bursting into tears. A blonde woman came rushing round the corner and picked up the boy.

“Hey, hey, Pete, it’s ok, shh now it’s ok.” She glared up at the Doctor who was staring at her. Looking straight through her eyes and into her soul.

“Rose?” The Doctor said quietly, her voice thick.

“Who the hell are you?” The woman said, angling her body so she was between the intruders and the boy.

The Doctor pulled back and examined the woman’s face. It was thin, too thin, with frown lines criss-crossing her forehead. It wasn’t Rose. Her shoulders slouched as the hope left her body, unable to look at the woman any more.

“Look, if you don’t leave I’m calling the police.” The woman said. Yaz darted forward and put the toe of her shoe over the threshold so the woman couldn’t slam the door in their faces.

“Sorry to disturb you ma’am, we’re looking for a missing person.”

“Ma’am? You police then?”

“Yes,” Yaz replied. Technically it was true, but she was way out of her jurisdiction here and she could only hope the woman didn’t ask for her badge; it was safe in the top drawer of her dresser in Sheffield. The woman sighed and turned to put the boy down.

“Sorry about Pete, he frightens easy,” she hurried the boy into a room and pulled the door shut behind him. “Missing person you say? Who is it?”

“Rose,” Yaz started, before realising she didn’t know anything else about her. Other than she used to travel with the Doctor, but that wasn’t exactly a lot of help.

“Tyler,” the Doctor cleared her throat and tried again. “Rose Tyler. About this tall,” she held her hand up at her shoulder. “Actually this tall, probably,” she moved her hand a bit higher. But the woman had turned away.

“Are these hers?” She came back with a pile of unopened letters. “I’ve tried sending them back loads of times but some people just won’t listen.” The Doctor took the letters reverently. “She’s been missing a while, I’ve been getting her post ever since I moved in about ten years ago. Apparently the people before had the same problem. Why are you asking about her now?” The Doctor didn’t respond, she just stared at the letters.

“Er, new lead,” Yaz improvised. “Thank you for your help, sorry about the interruption,” she shot the woman an apologetic smile over her shoulder as she led the Doctor away. Bemused, the woman shut the door. The Doctor leafed through the pile of letters and stopped suddenly. Yaz had to sidestep her to avoid careening into her back.

“But I told Jack, why would they send her…” the Doctor murmured.

“Hmm?” Yaz asked.

“Nothing,” the Doctor pocketed the stack of letters, making a mental note to look at them later. “Come on, let’s find the others.” She started down the stairs only to be called back by Yaz’s voice.

“Doctor?” Yaz sounded small, nervous, even.

“Yaz?” The Doctor hurried back and put a hand on her shoulder. “What’s wrong?”

“How does this end?”

“How does what end?”

“This. Travelling with you.” The question shocked the Doctor, made her remove her hand and take a step back.

“Do you want it to end?” Now it was her turn to feel small. She began running memories through her head, trying to work out what would make Yaz want to leave.

“No, but-” Yaz said quickly, before stopping again. The Doctor waited, knowing that Yaz would say her piece in her own time. “But you don’t travel with Rose any more. And from what her mum said, it sounds like you two were, close.” Close was an understatement, but it was the most Yaz could manage. It was the most the Doctor could manage. “You said you can change your face, do you change too? Do you change from, from liking someone to, well, to not? Is that why you left her in a parallel universe? Is that what you do when you get bored of us? Just throw us away?” Yaz’s words were coming out quicker now, and she was fighting tears back. “And you didn’t even take her home, you _dumped_ her in another universe. Who does that? Why? Why would you do that?” Yaz looked up angrily. The Doctor was standing loosely, her eyes far away, a tear just trickling its way from her eye.

“I didn’t mean that to happen. It was an accident.” The Doctor breathed in sharply and looked back at Yaz. “This is what I meant when I said travelling with me is dangerous. There are many, _many_ ways things can go wrong. And sometimes even I can’t undo them.” Silence hung thick in the air between them.

“Did you love her?” Yaz blurted, instantly regretting it.

“Let’s find the others,” the Doctor said, leading the way back down the stairs.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I will go back to Rose, I promise. I just needed to have a mini 'school-reunion' conversation first!
> 
> Thank you so much for all the kudos and comments, it's really helped spur me on with writing this!


	5. Monday

“Hello Rose.” Those two words tumbled and wove themselves around her until it was all she could hear, all she could see. Finally, for the first time in months, the ache in her heart lessened.

“You’re, um, leaking,” the woman pointed out, rummaging in her skirts for a hanky and holding it out to her. Rose ignored it, surging forward and pressing their lips together, gripping the lapels of her coat in a silent promise that she would never, ever let go again.

After a couple of startled seconds, the woman relaxed into the kiss, snaking her hands around Rose’s waist and dipping her slightly to adjust for their difference in height. Rose hummed at the movement, and the woman almost immediately set her upright, pulling away and taking a step back.

“Doctor,” Rose murmured, slowly opening her eyes. The women gave her an apologetic smile.

“It’s, er, been a while. Sorry.” A crackle of static rang in her ear and she swiped at her smudged lipstick to style out the wince.

“For me too,” Rose said quietly. The woman cocked her head to one side, but didn’t push it. Rose knew the Doctor, her brilliant Doctor, wouldn’t push her until she was ready.

“I have to go.” Rose’s face fell. “We’ll see each other again soon.” The woman stepped forward and gave her a warm embrace. “I promise,” she whispered in Rose’s ear. Before Rose had time to respond, she was gone, a rapidly diminishing purple blur. She raised a hand to her cheek, where the Doctor had just pressed theirs together. She couldn’t help the smile that blossomed on her face, or the squeak that followed soon after.

Rose pulled her phone out her pocket and checked the signal; full bars, as always. The modification the Doctor had done all those years ago was still working then. She pulled up her mum’s contact and typed a quick message.

_I’ve found the Doctor_

*****

“Missy!” The angry voice crackled in her ear again.

“Alright, alright, I’m here!” Missy cried as she swung in through the TARDIS doors. “Call off the hounds,” she shot Eyebrows a wink.

The eyebrows were currently bunched in the deepest V she’d ever seen them make.

“What’s the matter Thete? Not had your morning coffee?”

“I told you not to talk to anyone.” The Scottish accent rumbled angrily.

“Oh come on, you can’t expect me to go around with my mouth shut. I’ve got such pretty teeth.” Missy bared them and bit the air before heading up the stairs.

The Doctor rolled his eyes and started flicking at buttons. The TARDIS bonged loudly.

“I think you pressed the wrong one,” Missy sighed and flopped onto a chair, reaching above her head and fumbling for a book. “Oh, Grimm’s fairytales. I really don’t think you should be filling your head with such nonsense.” Below her, the Doctor muttered grumpily and pulled a lever rather harder than he needed to.

“Let’s see, which one first,” Missy opened the book on a random page. “Oh, Snow White, she missed a trick with those dwarves, you know.” Missy paused and flicked her eyes to the hunched over figure at the console. “Didn’t she have a sister called Rose?” The figure made no reaction. “Thete?” Missy dropped the book to the floor and slunk back down the stairs.

“I thought I shouldn’t be filling my head with such nonsense.” Eyebrows replied, keeping his head down. The TARDIS thrummed into life and Missy had to stop her prowling to grab onto the console.

“You and I both know you’ve read all the books on those shelves enough times to memorise them.” The engines stopped and the Doctor stepped away from the console. Missy stopped him with a hand on his arm. “And we both know that’s not who I’m talking about.” The Doctor went still.

“How do you know about her?” He asked in a quiet voice. Missy flinched and pulled her hand back. No matter his face, she could always read him. This wasn’t the quiet voice of a broken man. This was the voice of an angry one.

“She meant something to you. Something… different to all your other pets.” The Doctor grunted. “I suppose I want to know what it’s like. To have someone who loves you.” The Doctor glanced at her before going back to fiddling with switches.

“It’s the best feeling in the world, like when you set foot on another planet for the first time. Only it’s always there, it isn’t just a fleeting moment. It feels as though each day is forever, that it will go on for ever.” The Doctor stopped and rested his weary body against the console. “And then she’s gone. And all the light and joy of the universe is gone with her.”

“Thete,” Missy started.

“Is that what you wanted to hear?” The Doctor asked. “Yet another reason why I’m so alone?”

“You’ve got me,” Missy replied, slightly insulted.

“Of all the people, _Rassilon_,” the Doctor cursed and clenched his fist.

“I’ll let myself out,” Missy said quietly, turning to the doors.

The Doctor waited until they had clicked shut before he sank to the floor, burying his face in his hands.


	6. Chapter 6

Missy sat at the piano, silence echoing around her. The Doctor hadn’t returned for her this week. Or last week. Or the week before that.

She was beginning to wonder if he would ever return. If he would ever forgive her.

“You don’t know the half of it, old man,” Missy mused, trailing her fingers over the keys in a mournful melody. If he knew all that she had done… Missy slammed the piano lid closed with a loud thud. She wasn’t proud of it.

Well, she was proud of some of it. No matter how hard Eyebrows tried, she was who she was, after all. But there was one moment, one sick moment when she was out of her mind with hunger and the drums were going on and on and on…

Missy stood and tried pacing up and down. Two and a half steps, turn, two and a half steps, turn, two and a half steps. It was no use. She flopped down and leant on the leg of the piano, feeling the sharp corner dig into her spine. The memory played over in her head, so vivid that she could almost swear she could hear the drums again.

Rat-tat-tat-tat. Rat-tat-tat-tat. Her fingers softly drummed on her leg, but she didn’t notice. She was too busy thinking of that day in amongst the mounds of scrap.

The scar in the universe had only appeared for a moment, but in his half-starved state it felt like an eternity. Echoing out were the rips and tears of space and time, screeching in his ears like the screams of a thousand armies. Except he didn’t enjoy this noise. Everything about it was screaming _wrong, WRONG,_ in a way that set every cell in his body on edge.

So he reached out and closed it.

She was never sure quite how she’d managed it, but somehow, she’d closed the scar, made sure it could never open again. The walls of the universe were strong once again.

Never to be crossed. Not by ship, not by love. The walls sat stolidly, holding the chaos together, mere inches apart.

Had he known what he was doing, he probably would have laughed.

She knew what she’d done. She’d heard about the walls of the universe closing, forever separating the star-crossed lovers. You don’t travel round with a blonde on your arm and not get noticed. And when the blonde’s gone, people find out the reasons.

The Doctor had someone to heal him after the war. Someone who could see the good in him, build him up, show him love.

Missy curled up on her side, hugging her knees to her chest.

She’d never felt so alone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> angst city, I know, but I had to fix the gaping plot hole  
forgive me?


	7. Thursday

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> three chapters in one day? I know, I know, but the force was strong with my muse today

“Any sign?” A blonde head bobbed into view. Jackie sighed.

“What do you think?” She replied tersely. “She’s sitting over behind that bush?”

“Really?” The Doctor started to run forward but Jackie’s voice stopped her.

“No, you plum. There’s no sign of her.”

“OH I am thick!” The Doctor exclaimed, spinning round and smacking herself on the forehead. “Thick thickety thickface, big ball of wibbly wobbly THICK!”

“What are you on about, Doc?” Graham asked.

“Rose has come from another dimension; she’s crawling with tiny little particles from there. Nothing she can do about them, they’re just there, like lice.” Her gaze crossed Jackie’s and she gulped. “I can scan for them, I can use the scan from Jackie to find the exact frequency of the vibrations of these particles,” she paused and looked at the confused faces of her fam. “Er, kind of like seeing what the lice look like and-”

“Doctor.” Jackie interrupted. The Doctor fell silent and looked at her. “Just get on with it.”

“Um, righto.” The Doctor pulled out her sonic and started to scan Jackie. She put the end too close to her eyes for Jackie’s comfort and she batted it away.

“Oi,” Jackie warned. The Doctor took a hurried step back and looked at the readout.

“Should have enough data by now.” She fiddled with the settings. “Aha!” She held the sonic out in front of her and proceeded to circle round, a very intense expression on her face. The others slowly backed out of the way. Suddenly, the sonic started to beep. First slowly, then faster and faster until it turned into a shrill whine.

“Doc!” Graham shouted, holding his hands over his ears. “I think you’ve found it!” The sound stopped abruptly and the four let out a collective sigh of relief.

“Huh.” The Doctor said, peering at the sonic. She gave it a shake and looked again. “Huh.”

“What?” Jackie asked, exasperated.

“Well I’ve found traces of the particles. Looks like she was here a few days ago but then, there isn’t a trail to follow. It just sort of, stops.”

“Doctor,” Jackie said in a warning tone.

“But there’s something else,” the Doctor gabbled quickly. “There’s a strong field of Artron energy just… just about here.” The Doctor took a few paces to one side. Away from Jackie.

“What’s Artron energy?” Yaz asked. The Doctor looked up at her; it was the first time she’d said anything since their conversation at the stairs.

“Isn’t that something to do with your TARDIS?” Jackie cut in, cutting the Doctor’s look short as she snapped her attention back to Rose.

“Yes, it’s what my ship runs on-”

“Then what the hell,” Jackie stalked over to the Doctor, “have you done with my daughter?”

“Nothing!” The Doctor squeaked.

Wrong answer.

Some say the ensuing slap was loud enough to scare the ducks off a local pond in Brixton. They’d be wrong, it was the appearance of a Russian agent carrying a worryingly large loaf of bread, the kind you can hide a gun in. But the slap was loud. And it hurt.

“OW!” The Doctor yelped, cringing away from Jackie. It didn’t help that her now shorter legs made her practically the same height. It just made Jackie all the more terrifying. “I don’t know what’s happened to her, none of this makes any sense!”

“Could you track that energy like you did with the particles?” Yaz chipped in before Jackie slapped the Doctor again. The Doctor’s face lit up with a smile.

“Brilliant! Ten points to Yaz! The trail will be faint because it’s a few days old, but I can always boost the scanners by programming them to only search for Artron energy. It won’t take me long, just a few minutes tinkering with the circuits,” the Doctor had started off at a run across the park, all the while keeping up with her talking.

“How does she do that?” Graham asked as they started after her.

“Respiratory bypass system.” Jackie replied flatly. Graham could only nod in reply.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hopefully the humour will make up for the angst-fest that was the last chapter?


	8. Chapter 8

“Bored.” A boot span up in the air and was caught again by slender fingers.

“Bored.” Spin. Catch. “Bored.” Spin. Catch.

“Bored.” The boot span backwards and landed on the piano keys with a discordant thump. Missy sighed and stood up to retrieve it.

“Thete!” She called. She’d tried before, tried until her voice had hurt too much to continue, but what else was there for her to do?

Her thoughts kept drifting back to the leaky woman. To Rose. After she had woken up with the new body, with no memory of how she got it, she’d gone looking for her childhood friend. Tormenting him had always helped in the past, maybe now it would help her figure out this new body. She couldn’t wait to show him. See how long it took him to figure out who she was.

It wasn’t long before she found him, lanky limbs and spiky hair. She was about to call out, to start a new game with him, but then a woman walked over to him. His face, his whole demeanour changed. The fury of a Time Lord, the anger that she so loved pulling out of him, it was gone. He stood straighter, he even smiled.

Rose, he had called her. It seemed a strange name to Missy. A rose is a flower, something you pull off to put in a vase and watch it die. But this woman was anything but death. She gave Thete joy, life, love. Missy had followed them many times, always keeping out of the way, fascinated by their relationship.

Missy had noticed her fingers slowly picking out a tune of the keys before of her. It was slow and mournful, but filled with a sense of calm. She pulled her hands away as if the piano had burned her. If she wasn’t careful she really would go mad.

“Thete!” She screeched, throwing her boot for good measure. It hit a pillar and all the lights flickered in the room. The silence that followed was quieter than before. A sound that she hadn’t even noticed before, was gone. Slowly she stood up and reached a hand out, closing the gap between her and the invisible line between the pillars. Taking a deep breath, she edged her fingertips across the line.

Nothing happened.

“Thete?” She called, uncertain. No response. She stepped out of her makeshift cage and crossed to the doors. They swung open with the merest hint of touch. Outside was a stone room, water steadily dripping from the vaulted ceiling. She vaguely remembered it from when she’d been led down here by the bald one.

On the other side of the room stood a drab blue box, the one that always made her heart race when she saw it. Missy skipped over, dodging a large puddle, and rapped on the door.

No answer.

She pushed the door open.

"Thete?” The TARDIS gave a low whir. Missy walked over to the console and trailed her hand over some buttons.

“He’s left you hasn’t he?” The TARDIS whirred again. “All alone, no one to talk to.” Her eyes flicked to the screen, it showed a picture of her prison, the piano half-shrouded in shadow. Something inside her snapped and she started jabbing at buttons.

“I’m going on an adventure.” She said, pulling a lever. The TARDIS doors slammed shut and it bonged loudly as it took off. Missy couldn’t help the laugh that bubbled up inside her. She danced around the console, pressing buttons and pulling levers in time with the music she was humming. The TARDIS bonged again.

“Oi, in time with the music please,” she admonished, pulling a lever to make them land. She ran to the doors and stuck her head out.

“But he’s gone, mum,” Rose was speaking into her phone a few feet away. At the sound of the TARDIS she span round, a huge smile on her face. “She’s back, I’ve got to go. Love you.”

“Wait, she?” Jackie’s voice was cut off before she could say any more. Rose shoved the phone in her pocket and ran over to the TARDIS. Missy stepped out and greeted her with a hug.

“Shall we?” Missy asked, holding out a hand. Rose gave her a smile, sticking her tongue between her teeth, and walked into the TARDIS.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> if you want to know what Missy is playing, it's this  
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QOA_BazyGPA  
if the link doesn't work then it's called 'The single petal of a rose' by Duke Ellington, because I had to. It's called rose and it's on a piano.


	9. Thursday

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry it took a while to get this chapter up, I had the week from hell.

The Doctor bounded into the TARDIS, heading straight for the console. She span around it in the oh-so-familiar dance, pressing buttons, checking the screen, pulling levers. Jackie watched her movements, frantic yet deliberate, and couldn’t help but be reminded of the strange man her daughter had brought home all those years ago. The man who fought the Sycorax in someone else’s pyjamas. The man who brought down a government in six words.

The Doctor paused her efforts, one hand on the final lever, and caught Jackie watching her.

“You know a lot more about me,” she started, not sure what else she could say. What else Jackie would accept.

“Yeah, well, there wasn’t much else to talk about on the way to Norway.” The Doctor looked away guiltily. “Took months to get the smell of fish out our clothes.” The Doctor laughed at that.

“What were you doing in Norway?” Ryan asked. Jackie noticed the Doctor’s smile disappear as she bent her head again to pull the lever.

“Long story, love.” Jackie replied. “Maybe another time.”

The TARDIS engines exploded into action. A shower of sparks fell from the ceiling, narrowly missing the Doctor’s shoulder as she grabbed the screen and held on for dear life.

“This feels worse than normal, Doc!” Graham shouted over the din, clawing at the nearest pillar as his grip slowly slid away from him.

“The trail of artron energy, it’s, ah,” the Doctor squeaked as more sparks erupted form the console and narrowly missed her face, “it’s all twisted round on itself.”

Yaz had wedged herself in the doorway, trying to keep the weight off her ankle. Occasionally she would slip a little when the TARDIS gave a particularly violent jerk, but she could right herself fairly quickly.

The thump that came with the landing, however, was enough to dislodge her completely and she was sent sprawling to the floor.

“Everybody out!” The Doctor shouted as the TARDIS belched a large cloud of smoke from somewhere under the floor.

There was a mad scramble of feet, hands lifting her, legs tripping her. The five of them tumbled into a pile and the TARDIS doors shut firmly behind them, lock clicking loudly into place. The Doctor bounced up quickly and tried the door a few times.

“Huh.” She turned back to the others. “No getting back in for a while. She needs time to cool her systems off.”

“Where are we?” Jackie asked, brushing grass off herself.

“No idea.” the Doctor grimaced apologetically. She took a few steps away from the group to have a look around.

They had landed in a clearing in a thick forest. The ground sloped upwards away from them, but she couldn’t see through the trees far enough to see what was at the top. She tried looking the other way, but again the foliage was too thick. A bird gave a shrieking cry, making the others jump, and the Doctor craned her neck to find it. A flash of blue and red feathers was all she saw before it took off, loudly protesting the disturbance. She crouched and laid a hand on the soil, frowning. For a clearing it felt strangely warm. She stuck her tongue out and tasted the air; sweet flowers and sickly tree sap, but… her blood ran cold. Faint, but definitely there, there was the distinct bitter taste of smoke and blood.

“Come on,” she said sharply, turning towards the foul taste and wrinkling her nose. Now that she knew it was there, she could smell it too.

Yaz yelped as she tried to stand, falling back hard.

“Yaz?” The Doctor’s face switched to one of concern as she hurried back to her friend. “What’s wrong?”

“Twisted it,” Yaz winced as she pulled up her trouser leg to look at it. It was twice the size of her other ankle and throbbing painfully. The Doctor stood and went to pick up a large log, dragging it back to where Yaz was sitting.

“What’s that going to-” Yaz broke off as muddied hands carefully unlaced her boot and pulled it off before gently lifting her leg and resting it on the log.

“You need to rest it.” The Doctor said, before wrinkling her nose again. She could swear the smell was getting worse.

“Doctor?” Jackie asked. The Doctor dithered, prompting Jackie to put her hands on her hips. “Doctor, what’s going on? Where did you want us to go?”

“There’s something wrong,” the Doctor blurted. “I need to fix it.” She stopped and looked at Yaz, clearly torn.

“I’ll stay, Doc.” Graham volunteered. “I could do with a rest after that ride.” He sat down next to Yaz, despite her protestations.

“You sure?” The Doctor asked, jigging her leg. Graham nodded. At that, the Doctor seemed to have made up her mind. “Be safe you two.”

She turned away, leading Jackie and Ryan towards the sickening smell, trying to ignore the knot that was steadily growing in her stomach.


	10. Monday

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Right-o, sorry for the delay, had a busy week then got ill so my brain was cotton-wool soup and I couldn't keep a thought straight let alone string them together to make a chapter. ANYway, I'm better now so here's the next chapter (I'll try not to take so long to write the next one!)

Rose stopped and stared when she entered the TARDIS.

“It’s changed.” Rose said quietly.

“Oh, it does that sometimes.” Missy said as she stopped beside her. The TARDIS bonged loudly and Rose laughed.

“Oh my god, it really is you!” Rose pressed a kiss to Missy’s cheek and ran forward to the console. Reverently, she traced the dials with her fingers, laughing when the lights flashed at her. “Did you miss me?” Rose whispered. The TARDIS bonged again.

“Where would you like to go?” Missy asked.

“I don’t know,” Rose laughed, tears springing to her eyes. “Somewhere, anywhere! As long as I’m with you…” she trailed off and gazed at the woman she’d been dreaming of. Okay, the Doctor looked different, a lot different, to how she’d imagined, but she was _here_. She was back with him, back in the TARDIS. The engines thrummed into life beneath her feet and it was all she could do not to burst into tears of joy. Instead, she surged forward wrapped her arms around the Doctor, _her_ Doctor as she held onto the console, whooping loudly in Rose’s ear.

The landing was so hard they both tumbled to the floor. As they tried to right themselves the floor gave another violent lurch which made Rose laugh so hard she couldn’t stand up. Hands wrapped themselves under her arms and pulled her uncomfortably upwards, but Rose didn’t mind the twinges of pain. The Doctor hadn’t picked her up in this body before, she was probably getting used to the new differences between them.

Rose stumbled drunkenly as Missy helped her up, sending them both tripping into the console, the brunette trapped underneath Rose’s frame as she leant heavily on her, pupils wide. Rose was suddenly aware of her ragged breath, and the steady da-dum-da-dum reverberating back into her chest. Her eyes lingered on the Doctor’s lips before she closed them and leant in.

“I wonder where we’ve ended up?” Missy said, a touch too loudly, as she dodged out from under Rose and skipped to the doors.

“Doctor,” Rose turned and spread her arms out on the console, spinning her body loosely between them.

The doors rattled as Missy shook them, determinedly staying shut. She gave them a little kick, but they remained solid. She shall not pass.

“Who wants to see what’s out there anyway?” Missy said brightly, turning back to Rose. “I bet I’ve taken you somewhere boring. The random setting always ends up somewhere boring. I reckon this thing does it on purpose.” She narrowed her eyes at the ceiling. The TARDIS whirred.

Rose sighed and stepped away from the console, giving up on her efforts.

“There’s always _something_ to do.” She gave Missy a faux-serious look. “Unless you’ve landed on a Sunday. Sundays are always boring.” She walked over to the doors and pulled one open, looking back with an eyebrow raised. “Coming?” Without waiting for an answer, she giggled and launched herself out the door. It swung shut behind her with a soft click.

Missy couldn’t tell if the lock had engaged or not. She decided not to check immediately. She’d seen Rose so much it felt as if she knew her, but actually talking to her, when it was just the two of them… Missy sat on the floor, feeling it thrum angrily beneath her.

“I know,” she let out an empty laugh. What had she thought she was going to do with Rose anyway? Take over as the Doctor, pretend she was the reincarnation of Eyebrows? She tried it out, making various grumpy snorts, but the best impression she could come up with was a caricature-like frown and upturned mouth.

There was always the possibility of being more, well, _herself_. Despite his proclaimed greatness, the Doctor did have names that belied his darker nature; the Oncoming Storm, Destroyer of Worlds, the Lonely God. Missy laughed at that. How godlike she could be, given half the chance. How godlike she had been. She would show Rose the power of the Timelords; raise civilisations from dust to peak to dust all at the power of her will. Missy stood. She would show Rose the anger of the Timelords; go after Davros and show him how a grudge can never be forgotten. Missy crossed to the doors. She would-

The lock clicked loudly into place.

As soon as Rose had stepped out, all thoughts of the TARDIS left her. She was standing on an asteroid barely big enough for her to walk around the TARDIS, with steep sides that cupped her in the centre. Around her was the inky blackness of space, sporadically sprayed with points of light from far-off stars. But before her, perfectly framed by the asteroid, was a vast cloud of coloured gas. It tumbled over itself in slow motion as it orbited a bright jagged line that ripped through the centre. Fifteen large rocks, broken and jagged, were scattered through the gas, seemingly held still, like they were frozen in time. The gas span around them in huge circular patterns, painting the view like Van Gogh.

The Medusa Cascade. Rose had been there once before, but had been on the inside, fighting daleks. Now that she was looking from the outside there was nothing more breathtakingly beautiful. A pocket of gas span in front of the rip and momentarily dazzled her with light, making her shield her eyes and look away. There was nothing she wanted more than to share this with the Doctor. Taking care not to look again in case she was side-tracked, she walked back to the TARDIS.

The lock clicked loudly into place.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "Your real name is hidden. It burns in the stars, in the Cascade of Medusa herself" - Evelina, psychic from The Fires of Pompeii
> 
> I stan the TARDIS looking after Rose and trying to tell her who she's really with


	11. Thursday

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> welp here's another chapter because apparently my muse only works in double shifts.  
also please note I've added a 'dark' tag as there is mention of the smell of blood.

“So Rose came here?” Jackie asked as they pushed through the bracken.

“Maybe,” the Doctor replied. She had been concentrating on not ripping her coat for the last couple of miles, but Jackie’s comment broke the silence and her concentration. The Doctor winced at the loud rip that followed a particularly friendly bramble.

“What do you mean, maybe?” Ryan asked. “I thought you followed the, the energy stuff here?”

“Artron energy,” the Doctor replied, frowning as another branch made a small rip. Jackie waited for the Doctor to say more, but she was strangely silent. After a few minutes Ryan gave a yelp as his foot caught in a stray root and sent him sprawling to the ground.

“Is my daughter here or not?” Jackie sighed with exasperation as she watched the Doctor help Ryan to his feet.

“I don’t know!” The Doctor exploded. “I tried to follow the trail of artron energy but it’s all twisted up and it branches off into hundreds of different places. I- I don’t even know where to start looking.” The Doctor sat down on a stump, ignoring Jackie’s shocked face. Her lip quivered once then she set her jaw in characteristic fashion and swallowed, looking sternly at the Doctor.

“Then how are we going to find her?” No response. “Doctor, we are going to find my daughter!”

“Is there anything else you could use?” Ryan asked. “I mean, not many people have a time machine that runs on arton energy.”

“Artron,” the Doctor corrected. “And it’s from my TARDIS.” Jackie’s hand twitched and Ryan hurried to move the conversation on.

“How do you know?”

“She’s old and, um, leaks a bit. Radioactive particles that interact with the artron energy and create extra quarks and baryons.” She glanced up and saw their expressions. “A bit like putting dye in the exhaust fumes of aeroplanes to make coloured smoke.”

“Radioactive?” Ryan asked.

“Oh, the levels are low enough to be completely safe for a human lifespan.” Two-thousand years may be starting to push her luck a bit though. She made a mental note to give the engines a good overhaul when she got the chance.

“Rose is in your TARDIS, and she said she’d found you.” Jackie said calmly, rage boiling quietly underneath. “How exactly do you not know where she is?”

“Someone must have taken her,” the Doctor stood up quickly and started to pace. Mostly to stay out of Jackie’s range. “My TARDIS, I mean.”

“But that thing’s mad, you’re the only one who can fly her.” The Doctor decided not to rise to Jackie’s insult. She never had quite got the hang of a sentient machine.

“Any Timelord worth their salt can fly a TARDIS.”

“But Rose said you were the only one left.” Jackie frowned.

“Yes and no. And yes.” The Doctor winced. “Turns out the Timelords survived the Last Time War but to be safe they have to be kept in a time-lock at the end of the universe.”

“That’s yes and no. What’s the other yes?” Jackie asked. Ryan was looking between them blankly, having no idea what the Doctor was talking about.

“One got out.” The Doctor said reluctantly.

“A good one?” Jackie asked, remembering the stories Rose’s husband had told them on dark nights to scare the kids.

“But if one got out, then maybe others did.” The Doctor gabbled. Silence fell once more as Jackie stared at the Doctor, willing her to blink first. The Doctor broke her gaze and scraped through the mud and leaves with the toe of her boot. A gush of wind rustled the treetops above them, slowly travelling down to trail leaves back into where the Doctor had just cleared them.

“The Master.”

“Well that doesn’t sound good,” Ryan said.

“She regenerated and- tried to get better,” the Doctor protested.

“Tried is nowhere near good enough for my daughter,” Jackie said.

“It could be one of the others,” the Doctor tried again.

They all smelt it this time. Sickly and cloying and thick, the smell of blood dripped through the air well after the wind had moved on. Ryan gagged and put his hand over his mouth.

“Ugh, what is that?” He asked. Jackie held the Doctor’s gaze once more as she uttered a quiet rage.

“Tried to get better?”


	12. Thursday

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a short one today, I'm not feeling well but want to keep my hand in at writing so that the plot doesn't go stale in my head!  
Also, I loved the moment between Yaz and Graham in Demons of the Punjab and just wanted to give them some more time together

“Alright cockle?” Graham asked as he sat down next to Yaz. He’d been pacing around silently since the Doctor and the others had left, trying to work things out in his head. The Doctor’s numerous references to changing faces meant that she must have had a life before them, but it was strange coming face to face with her past. Yaz shrugged in reply, sulking a bit that she’d been left behind.

“How are you finding this?” Graham probed gently. He’d noticed something had been off between Yaz and the Doctor when they met up again back in the park, but hadn’t yet had the chance to ask. Yaz tried to shuffle round to face him but stopped, wincing, as the movement jogged her ankle.

“I found it really weird when I first met Ryan.” Graham said, hushing her to stay still. “I mean, I knew Grace had had a life before me, but Ryan was right there, staring me in the face. A reminder that everything we were going through, everything we were about to do, she’d done it all before. She’d already got married, had kids, even watched them have kids of their own. That was never going to happen for me and Grace, it was too late for that, but Ryan was the reminder that she’d had this whole other life that I was never a part of.” Graham paused, “it made me jealous. Not of Ryan, but of her life. Mine had been so different, I’d never really settled, never had kids; but there she was, having lived a life that was almost the exact opposite of mine. Made me wonder if we were ever going to work out.” Yaz chuckled.

“I bet she had something to say about that.”

“That she did,” Graham smiled at the memory. “Gave me the longest talking-to of my life.” They lapsed into silence for a while, each lost in their own thoughts.

“How did you get over it?” Yaz asked quietly. Graham didn’t reply straight away, taking time to put his thoughts in order.

“Grace said that she was old. Old enough that whatever had happened before we met was enough to be considered a lifetime. Whether she’d had a family or not, there were always going to be things that reminded us of then. What mattered was the person that she was now, the people she surrounded herself with now. She said not to bother with ghosts of the past. ‘Ghosts will only haunt you if you let them.’” Yaz laughed at his poor imitation of her. “She reminded me that we have no control over the past, only the future.” He paused once more and gently covered her hand with his. “From what it sounds like, the Doc’s done more living than the three of us put together. She’s bound to have things that have hung around.” Yaz gave him a weak smile.

“It’s just weird seeing it. She talks about stuff she’s done all the time, but never about the people she did it with.”

“Sometimes things just don’t go to plan,” Graham replied, his eyes misting over. Yaz turned her hand over and gave his a squeeze, knowing that he was thinking about Grace. She let him sit for a bit as he grappled with his emotions.

“But I don’t understand how she could leave her like that. In another universe.” Graham gave a loud sniff.

“I don’t have all the answers, sweetheart.” He caught her eye and smiled. “I’m not _that_ old.”


	13. Six Months Earlier

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think it's high to time to answer the big question - Why was Rose lonely?

Tony squeaked and giggled in delight as John picked him up and swooped him around the room.

“So Rose was hanging on for dear life, and I was flying the TARDIS _this_ way,” he span Tony left around the lamp. “But it didn’t work, so I flew it _this_ way,” Tony’s feet flew outwards as he was spun in the other direction, knocking the book out of his sister’s hands. “Whoops,” John gave a guilty grin. “Maybe we should finish the story another time, eh?” He gently put Tony down, ignoring his protests.

“Bedtime, kiddo,” Rose said, abandoning her book on the floor. “You don’t want to be tired for school tomorrow.” Tony scrambled out of the room, footsteps thudding loudly on the stairs as he ran up to his room.

“I don’t think anyone’s ever been as keen for school as him,” Rose laughed.

“Ah.” John said, giving another guilty grin. “I might have something to do with that.”

“What?” Rose narrowed her eyes.

“I, er, might have said he can fly the TARDIS when he finishes this year.” Rose stared at him open-mouthed.

“You don’t even have one!” She said. It wasn’t the first thing that had come to mind, but it was the first of the many protests that managed to push its way out of her mouth.

“I’m, er, building one.” Rose laughed.

“Yeah right.” John’s face remained serious and Rose’s smile faded. “You’re serious?” John nodded.

“Just like old times, eh?” Rose closed the gap between them and kissed him, humming as he snaked his arms around her waist.

“Just one thing,” Rose said as she pulled away. “You are not letting my baby brother fly her.” John widened his eyes and fixed her with his sad-puppy look. “Not until he’s passed his driving test then,” Rose relented.

“But that’s ages!” John said, disappointed on Tony’s behalf.

“Rooose!” Tony called from upstairs.

“Well it’ll give you time to make sure it’s safe for him.” Rose smiled and gave him a quick kiss. “I’d better go, he’ll never sleep without a bedtime story.” She turned to leave but paused in the doorway, looking back at her husband.

“Hang on, is that where the microwave went?”

“What microwave?” John replied too quickly.

“Hmm,” Rose smiled and left the room. Her husband was mad, but she wouldn’t have it any other way. He’d always been tinkering with something; their fridge cooked the meals for them, although sometimes it tried to turn everything into soup. She’d never been able to look at blueberries the same after the blueberry and tomato soup incident. She was happy with her life, babysitting her little brother at the weekends, working at Torchwood during the week. But the possibility of travelling the universe again, a new universe, made her heart race. As her husband had said, just like old times.

John watched Rose leave the room, the smile on her face making him smile with her. He couldn’t wait to travel with her again. Recently, he’d been dreaming of travelling and his feet always felt too still. His mind, too, was constantly awash with new plans and ideas. He’d managed to funnel them all into building a new TARDIS for the two of them, but his brain would still leap from thought to thought until it hurt. He pulled a packet of painkillers from his pocket and swallowed a tablet.

He wondered how different this universe would be to his- the old one, he mentally corrected himself. If New New York was still surrounded by apple-grass, if Woman Wept still had frozen waves you could walk between, if, if, if. The pain in his head got worse and he took another tablet, reaching for a glass of water on the table.

His brain was spinning with ideas for the TARDIS. A new breaking system, how he could hook up the heating to the swimming pool, where he could keep the marmalade. He should have a place for marmalade.

“Hey you,” Rose re-entered the room. “Got a text from Mum, the movie was rubbish so they’re going to come home early. Said they’ll be back in ten minutes or so.” She picked her book up from the floor and crossed the room to put it on the overflowing bookshelf in the corner.

“I could keep it on a little shelf beneath the console.” John mused.

“What did you say?” Rose asked, still trying to find a spot she could force the book into.

“I could fix that,” John said, snapping his head to the shelf. “All I need to do is hook it up to the dimensional- dimensional- dimensional- di-”

Rose was by his side in an instant, hands on his shoulders.

“John? Are you okay? What’s happening?” John doubled over in pain, grabbing his head with his hands.

“My head…” he moaned quietly. Dimly, he was aware of Rose’s soothing hand on his back, pushing him down to sit on the floor, the dial tone on her phone.

“Yes I know it’s late…I don’t know what it is…has anyone else been affected?” Rose gave a sigh of exasperation as she hung up. “Weekend team, sorry love.” John let out a small whimper. “No one else has reported anything like this, so it’s probably nothing to do with work. That’s a good sign, isn’t it?” She couldn’t help the question, or the hope that shone through it. John had never really got sick, not like this, and she couldn’t help the worry that was building in the pit of her stomach.

“Rose,” his voice was croaky, raw with emotion. He sat up; she deserved to be told to her face, but gods, it would hurt watching her. Already, her face was screwed up with worry, tears threatening behind her eyes.

“All this knowledge, my brain- ah!” He broke off in a sharp cry of pain. Rose surged forward and wrapped him in her arms.

“It’s okay, it’s okay, we’ll fix this,” she said. John took a few steady breaths, listening to the steady thump of her heartbeat. Her one heart, just like his.

“I’m not meant to be like this,” he mumbled into her arm.

“But you’re building a TARDIS, it’ll be different soon,” Rose replied. John felt a tear trickle down his cheek.

“No, I mean a human-timelord metacrisis. We’re not meant to happen.” Rose pulled back, watching him carefully.

“What do you mean?”

“All the knowledge of a timelord in a human body; it doesn’t work-” he stopped again, screwing his face up against the pain in his head. “I don’t know why I didn’t think about it sooner, maybe I didn’t want to-”

“Doctor, what are you saying?” Rose never used his name unless she was at the height of emotion. Her using it now made a stab of agony shoot through his heart.

“I guess I must have been able to last a while because I was given the knowledge at the moment of my creation; my synapses were created to hold all that information. But the rate at which human cells die and replace themselves, it’s too slow to keep up with the amount that I need. My synapses must have been falling in number since I was first created, and now it’s –ah,” he pushed through the pain. “It’s reached critical level.”

“What’s going to happen?” Rose asked, tears falling down her face.

“Timelord mind and human body, they can’t exist together. One of them has to go.” Rose shook her head, sobs racking her body.

“Don’t suppose you can do a nifty little mind-wipe, can you?” He asked, grimacing. He couldn’t sit up any longer so he lay back in Rose’s arms.

“This can’t happen,” Rose whispered. The Doctor couldn’t do anything other than squeeze her hand.

“I love you,” she said.

“Quite right too,” he replied. She rewarded him with the faintest of smiles. It was enough. He knew that she’d be alright.

“And I suppose, if it’s my last chance to say it, Rose Tyler. I love you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry.  
I'm so sorry.


	14. Monday

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a little one today to try and makeup for the angst-fest that was yesterday's chapter!

Rose stopped short, taken aback by the sound of the lock sliding into place.

“Doctor?” She called. No response. Feeling a little silly, she raised her hand and knocked on the door. She’d never had to knock for the Doctor before. The silence around her suddenly felt stifling, forcing its way down her throat and making it hard for her to breathe.

“Doctor!” She shouted, feeling panic rise inside her. She hammered on the door with her fist. “Doctor! Don’t leave me!” The past ran through her head and she couldn’t tell which feelings were memories and which belonged to the present. Tears formed in her eyes, blurring the sign on the door.

“Please,” she slumped down on the ground, leaning against the doors. “Don’t leave me again.” Her voice caught, making it come out in the tiniest whisper.

The TARDIS gave a loud whir, then the door opened a fraction. Rose looked up to find the new Doctor looking down at her with a funny expression on her face. Slowly, she offered a hand to Rose.

“No-one deserves to be alone.” Her Scottish accent was thick with emotion. She helped Rose inside and the two stood framed in the doorway for a moment. Hesitantly, Missy closed the gap between them and awkwardly circled her arms around Rose. The hug was simultaneously too loose and too tight in all the wrong places, but Rose didn’t care. She accepted the hug gratefully, burying her head in the purple jacket before her.

They stayed there for a while, taking solace in each other. They were occasionally bathed in light as the asteroid span in front of different stars, but neither one of them noticed. Eventually, the TARDIS gave a crunching sigh, bringing the two back to reality.

“I think she wants to leave,” Missy said, pulling away from Rose and walking to the console. Rose stayed with her, an invisible cord holding them together. Something in Missy made her move slower than usual when she started pressing buttons on the console, allowing Rose to keep close. She could feel the warmth of Rose’s body against her arm as the TARDIS doors clicked shut and the engines started.

She could almost believe it was meant for her.

She could almost believe she didn’t want it.


	15. Thursday

The smell got worse with every step. The air was thick with it, suffocating them with the stench of blood. They’d started seeing bits of rubble and broken trees a little while back; no examination was needed to tell them it was from explosions. Dust hung in the air and clawed at the backs of their throats, covering everything with a fine powder.

The three had stayed silent following the argument, none of them feeling like they could say anything helpful. The Doctor strode ahead, face stoic as she took in their changing surroundings. Jackie had gradually fallen back until she was in step with Ryan, trying not to let her fear show. She wasn’t doing a very good job of it.

“It’ll all work out, the Doctor always fixes things,” Ryan said quietly, trying to cheer Jackie up.

“Does he?” Jackie murmured in reply. The two lapsed into silence after that.

The Doctor increased her pace slightly, trying to ignore what she’d just overheard. She knew she had to make things right this time. If she can only ever make things right once more, let it be now, she thought. Gods knew she had failed Rose enough times already.

The trees suddenly thinned to a few dishevelled ones scattered loosely about, clinging onto life determinedly. The Doctor gave them a small smile of encouragement; life can prevail, she reminded herself. Taking a breath to steel her nerves, she crossed the no-man’s land and climbed the crumbling remains of a wall.

She’d been expecting it to be bad. But the sheer devastation before her hit her right in the gut. What few walls were still standing were full of pock-marks. Concrete fell away to reveal the twisted metal skeletons of the buildings, gaping outwards like a giant maw. The ground was littered with boulders and bits of broken metal. The wind picked up and played with the dust that had settled, writing its invisible screams as it moved.

A flapping sound caught the Doctor’s attention, and she jumped down from her vantage point, looking for its origin. She came to a small mound of rubble with a scrap of fabric peeking out from near the top. She crouched down to take a closer look, moving a few of the smaller pieces out the way. The face that greeted her was calm, as if it was only asleep, but the burn mark on the forehead told a different story. The Doctor pulled out her sonic and scanned the body, trying hard to keep a lid on the rage that boiled inside when she saw the results.

“Doctor!” Ryan called, snapping the Doctor out of her thoughts. She’d almost forgotten about her companions. Turning, she saw him standing behind the remains of a wall, waving her over. Jackie was with him, arms folded against the wind.

“We’ve found something, it looks like writing, but we can’t read it,” Ryan explained as she came into earshot. He pointed to a spot near the bottom and she knelt to examine it. A pain in her knee made her look down to see she was kneeling on a piece of iron girder, sharp at one end. Picking it up, she traced the odd square shapes on the wall.

“Someone used this to write here.” She said.

“Yeah, but what does it say?” Ryan asked.

“What would you write when you’re afraid?” The Doctor said softly. “It’s a prayer. A prayer for someone to save them.” Her voice grew hard as she realised that she’d come too late.

“Save them from what?” Jackie asked. The Doctor dropped the metal and traced the last of the writing with her fingers.

“The men,” she translated slowly. “The monsters of metal.”

“That sounds like-” Jackie started.

“Cybermen,” the Doctor finished. She looked around, a sudden feeling of unease crashing over her.

Pshht pshht pshht pshht.

“What’s that noise?” Ryan asked, frowning. The Doctor grabbed his shoulder and pulled him to the ground; Jackie following him. Ryan opened his mouth to ask again, but Jackie silenced him with a look.

The Doctor picked up the piece of metal and burrowed it into a bit of the writing that had gone deep. Twisting and grinding, she quickly made a hole for her to look through. Putting her eye to the hole, she saw two metal boots come to a standstill on the other side of the wall.

“Technology scan negative.” A broken, tinny voice said flatly. The three of them held their breaths.

“Sunset is imminent. Visual scan will be ineffective. Switch to radiation scan.” A second, equally tinny voice, responded. The Doctor hurriedly scrabbled in her pocket to find her sonic. Barely withdrawing it from the fabric, she turned it on, wincing at the sound.

“Radiation scan of immediate area is negative,” the first voice reported. The Doctor let out a breath, not noticing the tiny whine approach.

“Increase scan area.” The Doctor’s blood ran cold. It was a dalek. “The others are coming; transport must be secured.”

“Increasing scan area.” The first cyberman said, and the too-familiar sound of mechanical footsteps receded.

Ryan raised his eyebrows at the Doctor, and she hurriedly shook her head at him. They were nowhere near safe yet. The three lay there as the sun set quickly; in a space of ten minutes it went from daylight to near complete darkness. The air grew chilly and Jackie pulled her thin jacket around her tightly. A bird shrieked in the distance, but no other sounds of life came forward. Even the wind fell still in silent reverie.

A great ripping sound echoed above them, making the three look up. The sky should have been dark, but instead a great light shone out from a jagged crack. Small shadows passed in front of the light, first a few, then more, cascading down towards the planet. As they came closer, their shapes could be made out. Some were short and geometric, other were taller with limbs.

The Doctor watched with horror as the two species poured out of the sky.

“What’s happening?” Jackie hissed. It took the Doctor a few tries to get the words out.

“The void is opening.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to BookWerm who pointed out that unlike me, most people haven't come straight off the back of watching Doomsday.  
Basically, remember Doomsday? With the Daleks and the Cybermen working together and how the Doctor and Rose worked together to open the void and sucked them all in? (don't think about the next bit...oh, ok...have a tissue)  
This is the Void that I am speaking of. Those are the daleks and cybermen that are coming from the sky


	16. Chapter 16

The TARDIS engines fell silent as they landed.

“Where are we?” Rose asked.

“Home.” Missy replied. For a second, Rose could see their old house, the one she and her husband had loved. Over-flowing bookshelves, constant smell of tea, Tony’s laughter. Her heart constricted at the thought of never seeing him again.

“Might have missed a couple of days,” Missy said, pulling a lever to open the doors. “You’ll be safe out there.”

Rose glanced out the doors and saw the park they’d started in, the two dilapidated towers standing like ancient guardians.

“No,” she said, turning back to Missy. “You’re not taking me back.” Anger flickered behind her eyes.

“You’ll be safe here,” Missy said quietly. “You won’t be safe with me.”

“Like hell do I care about being safe!” Rose shouted. “I want to be with you!” She reached for a hand, but Missy pulled away. “Doctor,” Rose continued, her voice catching. “All I ever want is to be with you.”

Missy turned away, trying to ignore the growing sense of unease. She felt Rose rest a hand on her shoulder but she sloped it off. Something was wrong. Something was very, very wrong.

She let out a cry of pain as her head started pounding in the old familiar rhythm.

“Doctor?” Rose asked, but her voice was far away.

_Rat-tat-tat-tat_

_Rat-tat-tat-tat_

Time and space were writhing against each other, pushing and pulling, twisting and squeezing. It felt wrong, wrong, WRONG. The TARDIS heaved and moaned; she could feel it too.

“Get out!” Missy shouted as soon as she could make a coherent thought. Rose stepped back in surprise, worry clear on her face. “I said get out!” Missy snarled, shooting her a murderous look.

_Rat-tat-tat-tat_

_Rat-tat-tat-tat_

She barely saw Rose leave, her brain pulsing with the beat, unable to focus on anything. In her mind’s eye she could see flames and destruction, a city raised to the ground. Huge chunks of metal were lying on the ground, spilling out of the remains of the buildings that once stood.

_Rat-tat-tat-tat_

_Rat-tat-tat-tat_

And she laughed.


	17. Thursday

Crouch. Run. Stop. Look.

Don’t lose sight of the Doctor.

Ryan had never seen the Doctor look scared, he couldn’t even imagine it. But he could recognise the cold fear on her face when he saw it. She’d locked it away quickly, but when she had spoken her emotions were plain to see.

Their journey back to the TARDIS was hasty, full of snapped twigs and close-calls. Once, they were seen, but the Doctor had raised her sonic and the cyberman fell silently to the ground as the three had slipped away into the darkness.

Yaz and Graham had looked up as they entered the clearing, fearful that something had happened after such a long time.

“Inside,” the Doctor murmured as she helped Yaz up. The others raised no objection. Ryan kept expecting the gritty voice of a dalek to ring out, to stop them; he couldn’t shake the memory of his dad-

The TARDIS engines exploded into life, tearing him away from his thoughts. The ship heaved and swayed through space, sending its occupants sprawling.

“Hang on!” The Doctor cried as she frantically pressed buttons. “She’s used most of her energy reserves hiding from the technology scan, so the inertial dampers aren’t working-” she was cut off by another jolt as they landed. The Doctor sprang to the doors, but was stopped by a single word.

“Doctor.” Pain shot through her ankle as Yaz hauled herself upright against the console. “What’s going on?” The Doctor’s face slackened as she watched her friend.

“The daleks-” her voice was hoarse and broke off before she could finish.

“What, like the one we stopped at New Year’s?” Graham piped up, trying to lighten the mood. “We stopped that one, eh, Doc? I’m sure we can handle another.” The Doctor shook her head.

“It’s a whole army of them, and cybermen too,” she swallowed. “I’ve fought them before and I lost- I lost so much,” she trailed off into a whisper, unable to hold Yaz’s gaze.

“And if we don’t stop them?” Ryan asked, hoping he was wrong. The Doctor’s answering look told him all he needed.

“Where are we?” Jackie asked.

“Back where we started,” the Doctor replied. “The TARDIS didn’t have enough energy for anything else.”

“What can we do here? I thought you said the daleks were back on that other planet,” Yaz said, anger quivering at the back of her voice. The Doctor sighed, and all her energy, all her life seemed to fall away from her, leaving behind the tired, ageless being that she truly was.

“They’ll come. They always do.” She turned and walked out the doors, letting them swing shut again after her. A fine mizzle had started and she tilted her face up to let it wash down her face as she walked. Where she was heading, she didn’t know, she just wanted to clear her head. Chase away the old memories.

Beep.

Canary Wharf span around her head, remembering the half-finished tower blocks, the giant sheets of plastic. Martha’s cousin. She closed her eyes against the stinging wind. Rose.

Beep.

This time, she heard it. The faint beep of her sonic from deep within her pocket. She pulled it out and watched as it faintly glowed.

“Please,” she whispered. Slowly, she span around, pausing as the beeping quickened her hearts. “Oh please, give me this,” she started forward, firstly slowly, then quicker as the signal got stronger.

A lone blonde figure was sat on a bench, ignoring the rain that ran down her back. The Doctor stopped short, all her world suddenly shrunk to this one moment. The word was pulled from her lips in an involuntary prayer, a broken promise that she would forever keep.

“Rose.”

The figure turned, hair plastered to her face. Only one person had ever said her name like that. Only one person ever could.

She looked at the bedraggled stranger before her, leaning forward on her toes as if a cord was slowly pulling them together. Arms hanging loosely by her sides, face set with such intensity it hurt. But above all, the hope in her eyes.

“Doctor?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> wow...didn't mean to take 17 chapters to bring them together, but I have finally done it. yippee!


	18. Chapter 18

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So...it's been a while. Many things have happened in my life these last few months, some good, some bad. There was just a lot to deal with and writing Doctor Who ended up falling off the bottom of my list. One thing that has come out of it that I want to share with all of you is this: don't ever be ashamed of writing fanfiction. Yes it's nerdy, but it's also beautifully creative and lets you express things that, at least in my experience, you don't get to say anywhere else. Be proud of it! Even though I haven't been writing, I've still read the odd story and it's always, ALWAYS helped.  
You are all brilliant x

“Doctor?” Rose’s heart fell. How many regenerations had she missed? How many lives had the Doctor lived without her? Judging by the woman’s reaction, this version must be closer to hers- the Doctor she had last travelled with, she corrected herself.

The woman was frozen, up on her toes as if about to fly away, eyes searching Rose’s face, committing every new line and blemish to memory. Rose took a hesitant step towards her, her foot squelching in the mud. It was all the woman needed to run forward and gather Rose in her arms.

They were almost the same height now, the Doctor mused, sliding her arms down a bit to a more comfortable position. Rose’s hair tickled her nose and she buried her face in it, inhaling the smell of her shampoo.

“Coconut.” She mused. “You didn’t use to like that.” Rose pulled back, surprised.

“You remembered.”

“Always,” the Doctor gave a small smile, achingly similar to the one her husband used to give her. Rose felt the all-too-familiar sting of tears behind her eyes and looked away.

“Rose?” The Doctor asked, reaching for her again.

“You’re not him,” Rose said quietly. The Doctor’s hand fell back to her side.

“No, I’m not.”

“How long has it been?” Rose asked, unsure if she wanted an answer. The Doctor took a breath.

“Long. A very long time.” In that moment, she felt every second that had flashed past in her mad capers. An ageless god, forced to observe every moment to the end of time. The Doctor shook her head to clear her thoughts. “How about you?”

“Nine years, give or take.” Rose watched the Doctor as she processed the time they had spent apart.

“What happened to my, er,” the Doctor trailed off, unsure how to talk about the metacrisis.

“He died.” The words fell from Rose’s mouth like a slap, stinging both of them. “Six months ago. Something about his brain not being able to hold the consciousness of a Timelord,” Rose spat, suddenly feeling a wave of anger towards the woman before her. How dare he leave her with a copy? How dare he not think about the consequences? How dare-

“I’m sorry,” the Doctor said quietly, cutting off Rose’s thoughts. “I didn’t think-” she sighed. “I didn’t think. I didn’t want to think. You deserved the world, Rose Tyler, but you also deserved a life. You deserved to grow old with someone, someone who would grow old with you. You deserved a family, you deserved-” the Doctor’s voice cracked and she stopped, her face screwed up in anguish. “I can never give you that.” The Doctor looked away and sniffed as a gust of wind whipped her hair back into her face.

“You were always my family. I never wanted more.”

“You never…?” The Doctor looked back at Rose.

“Never seemed the right time. Tony was a right handful when he arrived, then we were busy setting up the new Torchwood…we just thought kids would come later.” Rose’s voice grew thick once more. “I guess that’ll never happen now.”

“Rose!” There was a sharp cry, then the Doctor was being pushed aside. Denim-clad arms wrapped around Rose tight, promising to never let go.

“I’m sorry, Mum,” Rose sobbed into Jackie’s shoulder.

“There’s nothing to be sorry about, love.” Jackie soothed, shooting the Doctor a warning look. Taking the hint, she retreated back to the TARDIS.

The warm yellow light of the console room had done nothing to alleviate Yaz’s anger. The Doctor had barely shut the door behind her before she started shouting.

“You can’t just walk out like that!” She yelled. “You can’t tell us all those things are going to come at us and then leave without giving us a plan, without giving us hope!” Yaz crossed to where the Doctor stood and grabbed her shoulder, pulling the Doctor round to face her. “You have to give us hope,” Yaz trailed off, suddenly aware of how the Doctor was standing. Her hair was plastered to her face, and her coat was sticking to her body awkwardly, rucked up uncomfortably under the arms.

All of a sudden, the Doctor plastered a smile on her face. “Always got a plan, me. Just took a while to put it together.” She shrugged off her coat, letting it fall in a damp heap before darting to the console. “Ready?” She asked as she pressed bunch of buttons.

“What about Jackie and Rose?” Graham asked. For a split second, the Doctor’s smile faltered.

“They’ve got each other. They’ll be fine.” She threw the lever and the TARDIS groaned into action.

Outside, Rose pulled away from her mother’s arms, staring at the space the TARDIS had left behind.

“She’s so different.”

“The Doctor changes every time he changes his face, doesn’t he, love?” Jackie tried to reassure her.

“I s’pose so.” Rose said forlornly.

“Rose, I know this isn’t the time but when I was with the Doctor looking for you we found this planet and-” Jackie’s voice was drowned out by the heaving of TARDIS engines. Slowly, the beautiful blue box faded back into view.

The door opened with a creak and a purple-clad woman in a ridiculous hat swung on the door-frame.

“Get in loser, we’re going time-travelling.”


	19. Chapter 19

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! Back again. Not as quick with an update as I'd intended; might be a bit slow for a while but I'll try to post once a week or so.

“Doctor?” Jackie asked.

“That’s me!” the woman replied.

“You’ve changed again.”

“Oh I do that sometimes. Often at very inconvenient moments and almost always inside the TARDIS. It makes a terrible mess.” She stepped out and walked over to them.

Rose took a slight step back, “you threw me out.”

“Oh no, Dearie, I was just having one of my turns.”

“You didn’t use to have turns,” Jackie challenged, angling her body between the two of them. Missy regarded her for a moment.

“It’s an age thing. Happens to the best of us.” She reached round Jackie for Rose’s hand. “I’m sorry,” she said. “Please will you come travelling again?” She widened her eyes in her best puppy-dog impression. “It’s not the same when I’m alone.” Hesitantly, Rose took her hand.

“Rose,” Jackie started to warn her, but she was cut off.

“I know Mum, but I think she needs me as much as I need her.” Missy smiled a smile that didn’t quite reach her eyes.

“Maybe I should come with-”

“No, sorry, you’d rather cramp our style,” Missy quickly interrupted, tugging Rose toward the TARDIS. “Byeeeee!” and with that, she shut the doors behind them.

“Doctor, wait,” Rose said as she watched the barely-controlled dance around the controls.

“Hang on a second,” Missy threw a lever, “just about to go through a-” she was cut off by a violent screech of the engines and a sharp twist to one side that threw Rose to the floor. Missy herself had only just managed to cling onto the console, jabbing frantically at buttons until they righted again. “A bit of turbulence,” Missy finished, pressing a final button and turning to where she had left Rose. A second later, her gaze travelled downwards and found Rose lying in a damp heap. “How did you get down there?”

“We can’t just leave my mum back there.”

“But running away from my problems is what I do.”

“My mum’s not a problem,” Rose shot back, pulling herself to her feet. “Okay, she can be a bit scary sometimes, but that’s only ‘cos she cares.” Rose fought back the sting of tears, “and now she’s all alone and it’s my fault-” she was cut off by a sob. Missy stood still, watching her through wide eyes.

“You’re so different from her,” Rose said after a few moments.

“From your mother? I should hope-”

“No, not Mum. You. A previous version of you. At least, I think she came before you. Blue coat, blonde hair. Pretty.” Rose gave a small laugh, “you were Northern again.”

“Really?” Missy said slowly.

“You don’t remember?”

“Oh I’m a complicated time-space...” Missy floundered, “thing. I don’t always remember what’s happened.”

“Not even-” Rose broke off suddenly. “What happened to your face?” Missy blinked and pulled the screen round to look at her reflection. A purple bruise was forming around a cut on her cheek. She’d lost her hat somewhere and her hair was wildly unravelling itself from its bun. The buttons on her coat were done up wrong, causing it to bag out lopsidedly.

“Nothing,” she replied automatically. She couldn’t quite take her eyes off the bruise though, the dull ache starting to make itself known through the myriad of voices in her head. “I exploded a Cyberman in front of me.”

“Doctor,” Rose started forward but Missy quickly ducked away from her. “How long has it been since you last saw me?”

“Days. Weeks… months.” Missy frowned at her reflection. “It’s hard to tell when you’re alone.”

Cautiously, Rose reached out and smoothed a strand of hair away from the cut. “Let me get something for that. Is the med bay still in the same place?” Missy gave no response. “I’m sure I’ll find it.” Rose quietly retreated up the stairs.

A smile slowly crept up Missy’s face and she murmured to herself, “I was too busy having fun.”


	20. Chapter 20

“Where are we going?” Graham asked as the Doctor flew around the console.

“Cardiff,” she replied.

“What about the Daleks and Cybermen on that planet?” Ryan asked. “I thought you said they were coming here?”

“They are,” the Doctor pulled a lever and landed them. “We’re going to need some help, and if I’m right,” she pulled a letter out of her pocket, “I’ll find it here.”

There was a hammering at the doors. “Doctor!” came a loud American twang. “I’ve been waiting for this!” Graham and Yaz looked at each other in surprise.

“Is that-” Yaz was cut off by the doors bursting open.

“Ya missed me, right?” Captain Jack Harkness strode in, smile beaming across his face. Before the Doctor had time to react he’d pulled her into a kiss. “I like the new look,” he said, pulling back and giving her a once-over.

“Buy me a drink first,” the Doctor grumbled good-naturedly, fixing her coat. “Long time no see,” she added with more warmth.

Captain Jack nodded, “same. A lot’s happened since you were last here.”

The Doctor gave him a sad look. “I heard about your team. I’m sorry, Jack.”

“Well-” Jack was interrupted by a Welsh lilt at the door.

“Jack, you said to meet you insi- bloody hell it’s changed a bit!”

“Gwen!” The Doctor said breathlessly.

Gwen frowned at her. “Do I know you?”

“It’s me. I’m the Doctor.”

Gwen looked at her for a second. “You do actually change then. I never understood it when Jack told the stories. When he dies he always comes back the same. Same accent, same face, just as annoying.”

“Hey!” Jack interjected.

Gwen gave him a playful smirk. “I brought you your coffee. You know what you’re like without it.”

“Gwen Cooper, meet my fam,” the Doctor proudly introduced them. “Graham, Ryan, and PC Yasmin Khan. Yaz to her friends.”

“PC, eh?” Gwen said. “I used to be in the police, then I got mixed up with him.” She nodded at Jack who was busily prowling around the console.

“Don’t touch that!” The Doctor shouted, hurriedly moving him away from an enticing button.

“It’s nice for the reunion, but why are you really here?” Gwen asked.

The Doctor looked at Jack, “I got your letters.” Gwen frowned at him.

“We’ve been getting really weird readings from the Rift lately.” Jack explained. “I figured you’d want to know but you’d totally disappeared. I tried to ask UNIT but they’re gone. Rose was the only way I could think of.”

“How did you know I’d go back?” The Doctor asked.

“After all you’d been through? Who wouldn’t?” An uneasy silence fell over the TARDIS.

The Doctor cleared her throat. “What sort of readings?”

“The Rift’s been busier than usual for the last few months, but now it’s pumping a sort of energy out,” Jack dug in his greatcoat pocket and pulled out a USB stick. “I brought a copy… does this thing even read them?”

The Doctor snatched it out of his hand. “Don’t call her a thing. Of course she can read them.” She disappeared under the console for a moment. A shower of sparks and a short exclamation later, she returned. “Now, let’s see,” she murmured, typing commands in. An image of the Cardiff skyline appeared before them.

“Woah, never seen her do that before,” Jack breathed. The Doctor continued to type in commands and the picture morphed into black and white, zooming out a bit until a jagged streak across the sky could be seen.

“That’s the Rift,” Gwen explained. “It’s a huge wormhole in space that’s tethered here on one end. The other end moves about randomly; me and Jack work to clean up anything that comes through.”

“Just the two of you?” Graham asked.

Gwen avoided Jack’s gaze. “It’s just us now.”

The Doctor changed the view of the image again, switching it to a myriad of cascading numbers that twisted into a funnel above the Rift.

“Here,” she pointed at a section of numbers. “Something’s been putting energy into the wormhole, but from outside actual space.”

“You mean from subspace?” Jack asked.

The Doctor’s face fell. “From the Void.”

“But that closed up years ago, you made sure of it. As long as no-one crossed the boundaries between universes-”

“Rose came back.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Because ya missed him, right?
> 
> Actually I'd planned this from the beginning, it's just the actual writers got there before me. I did nick the entrance line from them though. It was a good one.


	21. Chapter 21

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We were always heading here, but I feel I should warn you anyway: Missy is a proper baddie in this one.

The TARDIS juddered to a halt and Rose stumbled against the wall, cursing as a bottle fell from her hands and smashed on the floor.

“Come on, come ON!” The Doctor called from the console room. “I want to show you something!”

Rose hurried forward. “Hang on, I’ve got some plasters here, no idea what size you need, and Mum always said calamine lotion was the best for bruises but I dropped it-” she stopped and stared. The Doctor, hair spraying out from a high ponytail, was standing in the doors of the TARDIS, looking out at a landscape that looked like a bomb had hit it. Several bombs, actually.

“Oh my god, what happened?” Rose breathed. The Doctor looked at her and smiled.

“Me. Well, technically the Cybermen got here first, but that’s only ’cos they cheated. Stole technology far beyond their understanding and got here in half the time I thought it would take them. I turned up to set a few traps and they were already here.”

“You set traps?”

“Well I tried to only one of their scouting parties found me-” Rose ran past her and turned in a slow circle, a sick feeling rolling in her gut as she took in the devastation. “It was a little more on the fly after that. Good fun for an afternoon, though.”

“All this happened in an afternoon?” Rose asked, looking back at a person she hardly recognised. “What happened to you?”

“I lived.” Missy replied. “After everything that happened, all the torment, all the pain, I lived. Some might think they can change me, some might think they’ve even succeeded, but they haven’t, not really.” She stepped towards Rose, putting their faces uncomfortably close together. “This is who I am. This is who I’ve always been, who I always will be.”

Rose blinked back tears. “Doctor-” but Missy ignored her.

“I can raise civilisations to dust in half the time I could create them. Your scientists might say that everything reverts to dust because of entropy, because the laws of the universe prefer it that way.” Missy pressed their foreheads together. “It’s because _I_ prefer it that way,” she hissed. “Name any civilisation you want, it’s gone.” She pulled back and bared her teeth in a predatory smile. “My treat.”

A shout carried across the battlefield. Missy’s eyebrow crooked upwards. “I didn’t think anyone was left.” Turning towards the sound, the two of them saw a lone figure standing upright amongst the chaos, clothes whipping in the wind. The figure gestured at them, then turned and disappeared from view. Missy turned back to Rose, “life will out,” she murmured. Then the glint returned to her eyes as she proffered a hand towards her companion. “Want to see?”

Hesitantly, Rose took it, heart sinking at the steady double pulse in the fingers.

Missy bounded across the landscape, pulling a reluctant Rose behind her. They crested a ridge and found the figure crouching below it, eyeing them warily.

“Well aren’t you a funny little thing?” Missy asked.

“We didn’t think anyone had survived,” Rose explained, resting a hand on the figure’s shoulder. “What’s your name?”

“Name? Who wants to bother with silly little names?” Missy cocked her head and looked at the stranger. “You look human. There must be more of you somewhere, you can survive anything. Like cockroaches.”

“Nil,” the stranger replied quietly, looking worriedly at Missy. “Is she going to hurt us?” they whispered to Rose.

Missy puffed her chest out and glowered at the stranger. “Depends if you’re nice to me or not. Now. Take me to your leader.” She shot Rose a maniacal grin. “Always wanted to say that.” Nil looked at Rose with wide eyes.

“I’m the Doctor and I’m here to help." Missy said, forgetting to lose the grin. “Oh and this is Rose,” she added as an afterthought.

“We’ve been living in bunkers since the Gamma Forests were lost.” Nil said. “Are you really the Doctor?”

“I’ve got the dress sense and the TARDIS, what more do you need?” Nil stood up and extended their hand.

“Welcome, Mighty Warrior. It would be my honour to take you to our home.” Missy raised an eyebrow before shaking Nil’s hand. “Come,” Nil said, before taking off at a run, dodging around the craters and ruins that littered the landscape. Missy hitched up her skirts and followed in an awkward lollop, _how does she manage in that ridiculous outfit?_, Rose wondered.

A long-dead forest loomed on the horizon, the burnt out husks standing in memory of what had once been. Nil stopped and gave the trees a respectful nod before turning to his followers.

“We must pay our respects to our former home before moving on,” they explained.

“Oh, um,” Rose started before giving an awkward bow to the forest. Missy eyed her carefully before sighing and giving a casual nod in no particular direction. Nil seemed to be satisfied and bent to sweep at the ground, swiftly revealing a metal hatch. Hefting it upward, they revealed a shaft with a ladder welded to one side.

“Not much to look at, is it?” Missy remarked.

“It is merely an entrance, Warrior. Please, go ahead. I shall close the hatch behind us.” Missy shrugged and began to clamber down the ladder. Rose waited until she was out of earshot before turning to Nil.

“Why don’t you call her the Doctor?”

Nil helped her onto the ladder. “The Doctor has fought for our people before. Mighty Warrior is the greatest name we can bestow, one that we took from him.”

“Him? You mean you’ve met a different version of the Doctor?” Nil smiled at her as they adjusted the seal on the hatch.

“Once. A very long time ago.”

“Hey! I’m getting bored down here!” Missy called up from the bottom of the shaft. Rose picked up the pace and the two of them continued on in silence.

Having reached the bottom, Nil took the lead once more, taking them through a warren of tunnels. Around them the air hummed with ventilation units, but there was little other sign of life. Missy started humming to herself, a demented little waltz that tumbled and turned in on itself until Rose couldn’t tell if she’d gone back to the beginning or not.

Suddenly, the corridor widened out into a large room filled with huge computer stacks. A bloodied figure leant brokenly on a table, her back to them.

“Etta,” Nil cleared their throat. At her name, the woman looked up.

“Nil.” She said quietly. “Did you find any survivors?”

“No,” Nil admitted. “But I found the Doctor.”

The woman turned slowly, defeat in her eyes. “You are too late, Warrior. The fight is over, and we have lost.”

“But you’re still alive,” Rose started forward. “There’s always hope. If you made it, then perhaps others have too.”

Etta dragged her eyes over Rose’s face. “You are too innocent. There is no hope left. The Cybermen took most of us, the only ones left are those they deemed too old or lame to be worth shooting. Nil and I have been out looking for survivors; none have lived long enough for us to bring them back here.”

“How did you survive?” Missy asked.

Etta gave a humourless chuckle. “I am a coward, Warrior. I stayed here with the machines, tracking the ships as they came, telling our people where they were coming from. They came from everywhere. There were so many of them- I should have gone to the fight.” Etta closed her eyes.

Rose wrapped her in a hug. “You survived. There’s no shame in that.”

Missy prowled the computer stacks. “Old school, I like it. No wonder the metalheads didn’t come here; barely anything worth scavenging.” She flicked a switch but nothing happened.

“I turned them off,” Etta admitted, pulling away from Rose. “I couldn’t bear to watch it anymore.”

“That’s no fun,” Missy pulled a metal box from her pocket and pointed it at the stack. “I like to watch.”

“They’ve gone now, anyway, thank the Gods.” Etta said, crossing to the machine. “There’s no point in-” she broke off as the machine started to beep. Paling, she let out a cry before collapsing to the floor.

“Well there’s cowardly and there’s just plain craven,” Missy remarked, stepping over Etta’s unconscious form. “I wonder what’s got this thing so excited?” She skipped to another stack, zapping it with the box and peering at a screen that slowly flickered into life. “Oh, _my._ It is my lucky day.”

“Doctor? What is it?” Rose asked, checking to see if Etta was alright.

“Forget about her. We’re about to have a _lot_ more fun.” Missy said, hauling Rose upright and flashing her a manic grin. “Daleks and Cybermen, both at the same time. I’d say we’ve got, oh, ten minutes before they land and perhaps another ten before they find us. That’s unless,” she released Rose and bounded back to the screen, pressing all the switches she could find and grabbing an old-fashioned microphone that was hung on the side. “COOOEEE!” She shouted into the mic. “It’s your old pal, the Doctor. Come find me. I’m spoiling for a fight.”

“You’re mad!” Nil cried.

“That’s me!” Missy said. “The madman with a box.” Nil fumbled in their pocket and brought out a gun, hand shaking as they pointed it at their once ally.

“Don’t!” Rose cried, rushing forward. The gun went off with a bang, the bullet burying itself in one of the computer stacks in a shower of sparks. Missy was at Nil’s side in an instant, the metal box pressed threateningly into their neck.

“That was a very stupid thing to do,” she said lowly. “And I don’t like stupid people. I don’t like them at all. They’re predictable and they’re boring. Do you think I like boring people?” Nil shook their head slowly. Missy smiled, “maybe you’re not as stupid as I thought. Tell you what, I’ll give you another chance, shall I? Those Daleks and Cybermen up there, they’re going to land very, very soon and when they do they’re going to come straight here. Do you think you and your friend over there should be here when they arrive?” Nil shook their head again. Missy pushed them towards Etta, making Nil stumble to their knees. “Now live up to your name and be nothing. I’ll count to ten.” Missy closed her eyes and started counting. “One, two, three…” She trailed off as she heard Nil drag Etta away.

“Who are you?” Rose breathed.

Missy opened her eyes and gazed at her levelly. “The Oncoming Storm, the Destroyer of Worlds. I am the Lonely God.”

Rose shook her head, tears forming in her eyes. “But when you were with me-”

“You only scratched the surface, Rose Tyler. I am thousands of years old; do you honestly believe a mere human could understand all that I am?” Missy let the fire burn in her eyes, enjoying revealing the true nature of the Timelords. Then, like flicking a switch, she let it go, letting a leering smile take its place. “We have guests coming. Let’s see if I can prepare them a little gift.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Writer brain: Missy's gone savage.  
Fangirl brain: dOn'T hURt rOsE  
Writer brain: do it. do it do it do it.


End file.
